Some FUN FACTS and NOT-SO-FUN FACTS about the CHUPINAXCO Opening Ceremonies - 12 Noon - July 6th:

The CHUPINAXCO takes place at 12 noon, on July 6th, at the Town Hall, in the old city, Pamplona.  However, because this is such a monumental event in the SAN FERMIN festival, you can expect that all nearby side streets are also packed with building-to-building-to-building revelers, all with varying degrees of wildly elevated BACs (Blood Alcohol Content).   The Town Hall Square (known as the Plaza Consistorial) measures about 2500 sq. meters in size...so, you cannot even imagine how crowded the square becomes when the estimated 13,000+ revelers attempt to take their spots in the celebration!  This means that about 5 to 6 persons are jammed into each square meter of ground space! You must wear sturdy closed-toe shoes!  Don't even think of wearing sandals!! There is broken glass all over the ground - so, especially if you want to run with the bulls, be very careful that you don't end up needing stitches in your foot, or feet!! The Town Hall Square, during the CHUPINAXCO ceremony, is NOT a place for children or older people!  Once you get into the unforgiving crowds at the Town Hall, you CANNOT get out, until the event is over and the revelers leave the Square. Women and young girls report roaming hands on private body parts - unfortunately, due to the huge crowds, they cannot escape the ordeal until the crowds disperse - about one hour later!  During the celebrations, you can expect that there is a lot of very dangerous pushing and shoving, called "surging" by the locals. It gets very hot in the Town Hall Square, not only from the warm daily temperatures, but also from the body heat generated by the huge crowds packed into this small area! You can expect that it becomes very difficult to breathe, especially if you are a shorter person!  For the CHUPINAXCO, it is best to make reservations on a balcony in order to witness this spectacular event...and to be safe, at the same time!!  We have a very limited number of balcony places for the upcoming Chupinaxco, on July 6th.  If you have not done so already, we strongly advise you to contact us right away, in order to secure a balcony for you and your group!  More FUN and NOT-SO-FUN FACTS about the CHUPINAXCO will follow in Part 2.